The investigation that had been opened following a complaint that the Prime Minister Passos Coelho received money illegally from business Tecnoforma has been filed and no charges will be brought against the PM in this regard.

In a move that has left the PM’s detractors wrong-footed, the legal argument is valid. He can not be investigated for crimes or irregularities that could not possibly lead to a prosecution as the date they were allegedly committed is beyond the legal date for prosecution.

The UK’s Passport Office will revert back to the control of the Home Office following a “summer of chaos” when a severe backlog delayed receipt of new passports for thousands of Brits.

Home Secretary Theresa May also announced that its director, Paul Pugh, will not keep his job.

Card fraud in Europe soared to a record level in 2013.

According to the latest data, European card fraud losses hit €1.55bn last year – up by 6.2% between 2012 and 2013.

Passengers onboard flights will be able to use their mobile phones through take-off and landing, according to the European aviation regulator.

The regulator rules that use of the phones does not pose a risk to safety.

There already had been a trimming of the Moviflor workforce by 200, but today’s news that a further 325 are to lose their jobs signals the end of the Moviflor operation in its current form.

The company entered in an administrative agreement, or Special Recovery Plan (PER), that was agreed in the Commercial Court of Lisbon on in December 2013 while it tried to come to agreement with its creditors and devise a plan to rescue the furniture and furnishings business with branches in the Algarve and the rest of the country.

The first biennial event for ‘Nature Tourism in the Algarve’ is taking place in Aljezur on 26, 27 and 28 September, organised by the Associação Vicentina, Associação In Loco and Terras do Baixo Guadiana, co-funded by ProDer and the Associação Vicentina.

Two policy makers have headed south to open the event: the Minister for Regional Development, Poiares Maduro and the Secretary of State for Planning and Nature Conservation, Miguel de Castro Neto.

The recovery of Portugal’s tourism market is expected to continue over the remaining months of the year, according to the 'MarketBeat Autumn 2014' report from consultant Cushman & Wakefield, with the British support of Portugal as a destination holding firm under threat from the Germans.

According to the report, in the first half of 2014 there was a 11.3% increase in the number of hotel guests in Portugal to 7.1 million and 11.4% increase in overnight stays to 19.5 million, welcome news for the sector and a relief for the government whcih now has at least one sector with constantly improving results.

Average bank valuations for properties in Portugal increased again in August with the price per m2 now at its highest level since July 2012. Rises in the north of the country outstripped other regions.

The Algarve has the highest valuation levels in the country at €1,246 per m2 against an average national value in August rising by 1.9% year-on-year to €1,032 per m2, according to data released by the National Statistics Institute.